Aidarous al-Zubaidi, mercenary leader and head of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC), has declared a state of emergency in all provinces under his militia’s control in southern Yemen.
The move came during a meeting of STC leaders held on Wednesday evening.
Al-Zubaidi called on his security forces to “protect public and private interests” in Mansoura specifically.
“The elements seeking to derail these legitimate protests and distort their demands should not be tolerated,” he said, stressing “the importance of strict legal dealing with such elements”.
Several main streets and roads have been blocked by angry protests that broke out in Sheikh Othman district over the past weeks and days.
According to sources in the city, hundreds of protesters closed the May 22 Stadium Corner, in protest against the deteriorating living conditions and the lack of basic services such as electricity, water and oil derivatives, for the third day in a row.
The sources stated that the STC’s militia deployed dozens of armoured vehicles in the area.
According to the sources, protesters set fire to damaged tires and suspended all traffic.
The protesters called on all coalition forces and the STC militia to leave the city of Aden and the rest of the southern provinces immediately.
Similar protests have taken place in the Hadhramaut city of the Mukalla and elsewhere in the occupied south, with reports detailing violent crackdowns perpetrated by Saudi-led and Emirati-led security forces.
